Nonspill liquid container



June 13, 1950 E. D. CERRUTI 2,511,493

NONSPILL LIQUID CONTAINER Filed May 16, 1945 INVENTOR EDWARD 0. CERRUT/BY 2 r ATTORNEYS Patented June 13 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICENONSPILL LIQUID CONTAINER Edward D. Cerruti, Oakland, Calif.

Application May 16, 1945, Serial No. 594,061

2 Claims.

This invention relates to non-spill containers for liquids. One of theobjects of the invention is the provision of a container which willmeasure ofi pre-determined quantities of the liquids into a ready accessreservoir and which will insure against the spilling of the liquids inthe event that the container is accidentally tipped or dropped.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container of theclass described wherein the means utilized to pass measured quantitiesof the contents to a ready access dipping well or reservoir, and toguard against spilling, may be combined into a unit for attachment toconventional container bodies, as in the case of a closure cap, or maybe built into the container itself as a permanent part thereof.

The device forming the subject matter hereof will be found useful as acontainer for ink, medicines, chemicals and in fact any fluid in the useof which it is desirable to reservoir small quantities of the same andguard against accidental spilling of any quantities of the liquid.

Other objects of this invention will become more apparent as thisspecification proceeds and the novelty thereof will be pointed out withthe requisite degree of particularity in the appended claims.

In the appended drawings wherein certain embodiments of the inventionare shown by way of illustration,

Figure l is the vertical section of a container embodying the principlesof this invention,

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is vertical sectional view showing the device of Figure 1 inits inverted position to illustrate the compartmental entrapment of theliquid contents,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the device of Figure lrestored to its upright position.

Referring now to the subject matter of Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, thenumeral designates any conventional bottle or vessel serving as the bodyof the container and having secured thereto a top closure or cap IIcarrying the novel concepts of this invention. While the cap II is shownattached to the body In by the conventional threads 12, it will beunderstood that this is for purposes of illustration only since the twomembers may be joined in other known ways such as a friction fitting orby the use of an adhesive. Also, if desired, a washer or a gasket (notshown) may be utilized in the connection to ill 2 render the joint fluidtight. In the handling of certain liquids it may even be desirable topermanently connect cap II and body In to render the devicenon-refillable, and that is, of course, within the purview of thisinvention.

It will be seen from Figures 1, 3 and 4 that the closure cap II ischambered as at l5, having a bottom 16 adapted to abut the top edge ofthe container Ill to seal off its contents, and a top I! spaced aparttherefrom. The bottom l6 has a centrally disposed conical shapeddepression therein to define a dipping well or reservoir 18 for thecapture of predetermined quantities of the liquid contents of thecontainer l0 upon inversion thereof, and to hold the same for readyaccess. Access to the reservoir I8 is obtained through theinternallyprojecting tubular member 20, centrally disposed in the top ll of cap IIin co-axial alignment with reservoir 18. As illustrated in Figure 4 ofthe drawings, the device is adapted to receive a pen, dropper or otherinstrumentality through the tubular member 20 for the taking of portionsof the fluid in reservoir It. The member 20 will also accommodate astopper or plug (not shown) where complete sealing off of the contentsof the container 10 may be desired, as in the case of highly volatileliquids and in storage of the device over any considerable period oftime where evaporation is to be avoided.

The measuring and non-spill elements of the device, illustrated inFigures 1 to 4, assume the form of compartments or chambers 23 and 2Aaligned radially between the internally projecting tubular member 20 andthe peripheral wall of cap ll. Chambers 23 and 24 are defined by thevertically extending side walls 25 and 26, common to both chambers, andconnected to the peripheral wall of the cap H at their outer ends and tothe member 20 at their inner ends. A transverse partition 29interconnects the side walls 25 and 26 to divide the said chambers 23and 24. This partition has upper and lower ports 30 and 3|,respectively, establishing communication between the chambers 23 and 24for a purpose to become more apparent as this specification proceeds.

Chamber 23 is open at its bottom end to provide unobstructedcommunication between said chamber and the interior of the container l0.Similarly, chamber 24 has a bottom opening directed toward reservoir [8at a level beyond port 3| to the end that any liquid temporarilycaptured in chamber 24 will seal both ports and be charged into the saidreservoir on righting the container.

The operation of the device forming the subject matter of Figures 1 to4, inclusive, will be best understood by reference to Figures 3 and 4 ofthe drawings. When the device of Figure 1 is inverted to the position ofFigure 3 the liquid 33 in container body will commence flowing intochamber 23 and from thence through port 35 in partition 29 into trapchamber 24. Port 3| will in this initial stage function as a breatheraperture through which air within cap M will flow to displace thatportion of the liquid 33 which has passed into the chambers 23 and 24.When the liquid has risen in chamber 24 to a point at which port 3| isclosed off (as indicated in Figure 3) an air lock is thereby createdwhich prohibits any further venting of the fluid 33 from the container10. Both of the ports 30 and 3| are of such relatively smallcross-sectional area that the capillary tension of the liquidthereacross tends to restrain passage of the ink through said ports.This factor prevents any tendency of the ink column to rise slightly,after the air-lock has been efiected, due to the fluid head in theinverted bottle.

Upon restoring the container I0 to its upright position, the main bodyof the fluid 33, along with that in chamber 23, will fall by gravityinto the container i8. Simultaneously therewith, the air lockestablished at port 3| will be broken and the measured quantity of thefluid entrapped in chamber 24 will flow by gravity into the ready accessreservoir Is as indicated at 34. As the supply it of liquid in thereservoir I8 is depleted or taken by any instrumentality through theinternally projecting tubular member 20, additional quantities may bemeasured into the reservoir i S by simple repetitive inversion of thecontainer body H] in the manner above described.

It will be appreciated that the structural characteristics of thi devicepreclude the possibility of overfilling the reservoir l8 once thereservoir i8 has been filled, as repeated inversion of the container |flwill simply return the fluid 34 into the area of the cap surrounding themember and further measured quantities of the fluid 33 will commingletherewith in sufiicient quantity to automatically seal off the ports 3|and 30 in partition 29 providing an air lock against further venting ofthe remaining contents of the liquid 33 within the container H).

The structural characteristics of the device likewise guard againstaccidental spilling of the contents since under no circumstances can asu icient quantity of the liquid 33 be by-passed tlnough the ports 30and 3| to overfill cap H in a degree permitting flow through the tubularmember 20 even though the device be tipped to its side.

It will be apparent that the invention forming the subject matter hereofmay take other and additional forms and is susceptible of change withoutdeparting from its spirit and hence full protection is desired inaccordance with the scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. A liquid container comprising, a hollow main body member, a chamberedtop closure therefore, a central dipping well in the bottom of thechamber in the closure, an internally projecting tubillar member in theclosure open to atmosphere and vertically aligned with the well, a pairof horizontally aligned compartments within the chamber of the closureextending radially between the internally projecting tubular member andthe peripheral wall of the closure, the outer compartment being in opencommunication with the interior of the main body member and the innercompartment being in open communica tion with the chamber and dippingwell in the closure, and a partition between the inner and outercompartments formed with two vertically spaced restricted portspositioned to become sealed as liquid flowing therethrough fllls theinner compartment which therefore will trap a predetermined amount offluid for discharge by gravity to the dipping well upon righting thecontainer.

2. A liquid container comprising a hollow main body, a separable topclosure for the body including a chamber having a central, conical,depression extending into the hollow body and constituting a clippingwell, a central access opening in the closure formed with a dependingmarginal wall extending into the chamber in alignment with the dippingwell, and fluid measuring means in the closure constituting the solecommunication between the main body and dipping well and operated byinversion of the liquid container,

, comprising a pair of horizontally aligned compartments the outer oneof which is in open comunication with the body and the inner one withthe chamber in the closure, said compartments including a separatingpartition formed with two vertically spaced restricted ports positionedto be sealed by liquid as the inner compartment becomes full, therebylimiting flow therethrough to the capacity of said compartment andcausing its contained fluid to flow into the dipping well by gravityupon righting the container.

EDWARD D. CERRUTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 308,100 Ross Nov. 18, 1884611,093 Baldwin Sept. 20, 1398 1,273,479 Gosselin July 23, 19181,798,067 C'omstock 'Mar. 24, 1931 1,864,263 Tharrington June 21, 19322,091,929 Kappenberg Aug. 31, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date260,415 Great Britain Nov. 4, 1926 417,136 France Aug. 23, 1910

